Tong assembly



A. L. STONE TONG ASS MBLY Sept. 4 1951 Filed ay 1'7, 1947 TTO NEY.

A STONE TONG ASSEMBLY Sept- 2 Sheets-Shee 2 File May 1947 Patented Sept. 4, 1951 TONG ASSEMBLY Albert L. Stone, Palos Verdes Estates, Calif., as-

signor, by mesne assignments, to Standard Oil Development Company, Elizabeth, N. J a corporation of Delaware Application May 17, 1947, Serial No. 748,836

Claims.

The present invention is directed to a tong assembly adapted for gripping a tubular structural member.

In the handling and manipulation of tubular structural members, it is often desirable to provide a device for gripping such a member either for the purpose of preventing rotation thereof or for the purpose of applying a rotative motion thereto.

A common example of an operation requiring the use of one or'more tong assemblies is in the handling of sections of pipe used to form the drill stem in a conventional rotary drilling rig. In such operations, it is necessary or desirable to provide a tong member or members to grip the pipe when making up a joint or when breaking a joint.

It may also be mentioned that in the operation of handling a drill pipe in a derrick, it may at times be desirable to provide a means supporting a vertical section of pipefrom its lower end and when so supported to move the pipe either vertically or horizontally or both. Methods of handling pipe in a derrick where it is desirable to support the pipe from the lower end during at least a portion of such handling is disclosed in my copending application Serial No. 690,944 entitled Method for Stacking Drill Pipe filed August 16, 1946; and in my copending application Ser. No. 753,591, entitled Method for Handling Vertical Sections of Pipe in a Derrick filed June 9, 1947.

It is an object of the present invention to devise a tong assembly for gripping a tubular structural member.

It is another object of the present invention to devise a tong which may be mounted for movement about a fixed point and which is provided with means for centering the gripping portion of the tong with respect to the tubular member to be gripped.

It is another object of the present invention to devise a tong having the gripping means actuated by hydraulic controls. I

Still another object of the present invention is to devise a tong with gripping means actuated by hydraulic controls whereby the pressure exerted by the gripping means is substantially greater than the pressure supplied through the hydraulic system.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention may be seen from the following description taken in conjunction with the drawing in which Fig. 1 is a side elevation, partly in section,

showing an embodiment of the present invention secured to a suitable mounting means;

Fig. 2 is an end elevation of a portion of the device of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a top view of the tong portion of the assembly with the upper portion of the frame removed and parts shown in section to show details of the construction thereof;

Fig. 4 is a view of that part of the frame whic was removed from Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a view taken along line V--V of Fig. 3;

Fig. 6 is a view taken along line VIVI of Fig. 5; I

Fig. '7 is a view taken along line VV of Fig. 3 but with the slidable assembly removed to show more clearly-the configuration of the frame assembly; and I i Fig. 8 is a fragmentary view showing a portion of the slidable assembly of the tong and the positioning screw secured to the frame assembly.

The apparatus of the present invention may be described briefly asincluding a frame member adapted to be permanently attached to a suitable mounting means. Carried by the frame member is a gripping assembly slidable with respect to the-frame member whereby the center of the tubular structural member to be grippedv may shift without requiring the frame member to be shifted. An additional feature of the tong assembly isa stop assembly carried by the frame assembly which positions the gripping assembly preparatory to engagement with a section of drill pipe.

Another feature of the invention is a hydraulic actuating means arranged to exert a substantially greater pressure against the gripping means than is supplied by the hydraulic power system. .The assembly is preferably arranged so that the mounting means allows vertical movement of the frame member and rotation of the frame member about a fixed axis.

In the arrangement of the present invention the frame member has slidably mounted thereon a gripping assembly comprising a bridge member, a first gripping. means mounted on the bridge member and a second gripping means mounted on the bridge member. The first and second gripping means are arranged to cooperate in gripping a tubular structural'member.

The arrangement of the present invention allows the first gripping means to come into contact with the cylindrical structural member and thereupon the second gripping means may be shifted to bring it into contact with the cylindrical structural member. It is to be noted that this arrangement is particularly advantageous when the end of the tong is pivoted about a fixed point. The axis of the portion of the drill pipe which projects above the rotary table may not coincide with the center line of the borehole because of variations in the way the slips are set and such variations in the position of the axis of'the drill pipe are compensated by the centering arrangement of the assembly of the present invention.

The device of the present invention will-now be described specifically in conjunction with the drawing which shows an embodiment thereof. In the drawing letters are used' to designate assemblies or important members and numerals are used to designate parts making up the assemblies or portions of important members:

Column assembly A has frame assembly B secured thereto. An adjustable stop or positioning assembly C is mounted on frame assembly B. Slidably mounted onframe assembly B is a gripping assembly comprising bridge member D, gripping means E and gripping means F.

Column assembly A includes a post member I I having its lower end secured to base I2. I-t'will be understood that any suitable means for anchoring column assembly A may be used. In the drawing, base'I2 is indicated as secured to foundation member I3; it-will be understood that any suitable anchoring members may be employed as foundation I3. Slidably mounted on post II is outer cylinder I42 It will be seen that post II is provided with an outwardly extending circular ledge I 5 provided with packing means It and cylinder I4 is provided with an inwardly extending circular ledge I1 having a packing means I8. A reservoir I9 is defined between the inner surface of thecylinder I4, the outer surface of post I I and the ledges I5 and I1. Inlet line 20 passes through the wall of cylinder I4 .1

and communicates with reservoir I9. It will be understood that inlet 20 may be fluidly connected to a suitable source of fluid pressure and a valving arrangement, not shown, to move cylinder I4 upwardly with respect to post I I, by use of such pressure, and to allow the cylinder to move downwardly under the influence of gravity.

The upper end of cylinder 'I4 defines a'boss- '2'I. The upper and lower' portions 22 and 23 which form frame B are secured to boss 21 by suitable means such as bolts 24. 'It will beseen that members 22 and 23 define'a slotted portion which will allow the tong to be engaged with and disengaged from a section of drilling pipe designated on the drawing as 25 by angular movement of the tong member about a vertical axis while the axis of pipe 24 is vertical and the pipe is held'stationary. In the drawing the axis of the pipe is shown by a dashed line designated as 26'. The longitudinal axis of the frame .8 is shown by dashed line 8.

An adjustablestop or positioning assembly C is carried by frame B, said stop member including a downwardly extend-ing'structural member 2! arranged to carry the horizontal extending member 28 which defines a surface 29 adapted to ber 21 by means of" screw threads with which the members are secured together.

Slidably mounted on frame B is an assembly including bridge member D, gripping means; E

and gripping means F. Bridge D defines a cir- V for disengaging ram 48 from pipe 24.

cular portion 30 having an outer cylindrical surface 3|. The lower portion of bridge D defines a flat machined surface 32. Gripping means F includes a cylinder consisting of two sections 9 and I0, the outer surfaces of which define cylindrical machined surfaces 33a and 33b. The upper section 22 of frame B defines an arcuate machined surface 34, and the lower section 23 defines an arcuate machined surface and a flat machined surface 36. A ring 31 is carried by section 23 of frame B and defines an inner cylindrical surface 38. It will be seen that the gripping assembly is provided with the machined surfaces 3|, 32;, 33a and 331) while the frame B is. provided with machined surfaces 34, 35, 36, and 38. These machined surfaces allow the gripping assembly to slide freely} with respect to the frameB...

The gripping assembly is biased to an initial position by spring 39 having one end secured to a lug 40 of the'bridge D- andthe other end secured to a lug 4! of section 23 of frame B. An adjustable screw 42 is secured to upper section 22 of frame B. Bridge D is provided with a lug 43 arranged to cooperate with screw 42. The arrangement of spring 39, adjusting screw 42 and lug 43 insures that the gripping assembly will be returned to a fixed position when no other force is acting to move the gripping assembly with respect'to the frame assembly.

The first gripping means E is carried by bridge D, said gripping means including a ram member 44 provided with dies 45. Ram- 44 is mounted within the circular portion 30 of bridge member D and is secured thereto by suitable means such as screw threads 46.

Bridge D also has mounted thereon the sec-- ond gripping means F. Gripping assembly F includes a cylinder formed by sections 9 and I0 secured together by screw threads 41, a ram 43 and a piston ram 49. Ram 48 is provided with dies a, Piston" ram 49 and cylinder section 9 cooperateto define a reservoir 50 and piston ram 49, ram 48, cylinder section I9, and ring 5| define a reservoir 52. A conduit 53' communicates with reservoir 56.

Reservoir 52 maybe filled with fiuid through passage 54 in ram 48, a threaded plug 55 being provided to close the passage and maintain the fluid in reservoir 52 during normal operation of the device. Reservoir 52 is sealed by packing member 56 mounted on ram- 48 and packing means 57 and 58 mounted on ring 5|. Reservoir 50 is sealed by packing ring 59 mounted on piston ram 49.

It will be understood that in the operation of thedevice hydraulic fluid may leak from reservoir 56 past sealing ring 59 into space 60. In order to prevent fluid pressure from building up in space 60, port 6| passes through the wall of cylinder section Ill to discharge fluid from space 66 into the lower section 23 of frame assembly B. Similarly, fluidmay leak from reservoir 52 into space 66 where it may drain as previously described or it may leak past seals 56 into space 62 where it may drain through passage 63 and be discharged through conduit 64 as shown'in detail in Fig. 5. g

The hydraulic system including space 62, passage 63 and conduit 64 may be used, if desired, When used for this purpose fluid under pressure may be supplied from a suitable source not shown and discharged through conduit 64 thence to passage 53 and finally into space '62 where it exerts a'pressure against the shoulder of ram 48 to move it away from pipe 24.

As stated heretofore, reservoirs 50 and 52 contain fluid. If bridge D is held against movement and ram 48 is free to move, an increase in pressure in reservoir 50 causes piston ram 49 to move toward pipe center 26 and this in turn increases the pressure in reservoir 52 and causes ram 48 to move toward pipe center 26. In the embodimerit shown in the drawing, the area of piston ram 49 defining a wall of reservoir 50 is greater than the area of that portion of the piston ram 49 passing through ring 5| into reservoir 52. Accordingly, the pressure exerted by piston ram 49 in reservoir 52 is greater than the pressure exerted thereon by the fluid in reservoir 50, the pressure in the two reservoirs being inversely proportional to the areas of piston ram 45 forming wall portions of the reservoirs. For example, if the area of piston ram 49 defining a wall of reservoir 50 is twice the area passing through ring 5|, the pressure exerted by the piston ram 49 in reservoir 52 is twice as great as the pressure in reservoir 50. With such a proportioning of parts if a pressure of 1000 pounds per square inch be applied to reservoir 50, piston ram 49 will cause a pressure of 2000 pounds to be built up in reservoir 52 and this pressure exerted against ram 48 will cause dies 45a to grip the pipe with a force twice as great as could be obtained by applyin the pressure from conduit 53 directly to ram 48.

An im ortant function of stabbing assembly C is to position the tong when using it for supporting a section of pipe preparatory to adding the section to a drill string in a borehole. With a section of pine gri ped by the assembly and the assembly positioned so that its up er end is above the drill stem but with surface 29 in position to contact the drill stem, the entire tong assembly may be swung through an arc until surface 29 contacts the upper end of the drill stem which assures that the center of the pipe carried by the ton coincides with the center of the drill stem whereu on the tong may be lowered so that the threads of the section of pipe and the threads of upper end of. the drill string engage whereupon the joint may be made up by spinning and tongmg.

The device of the present invention is particularly adapted to be used for gripping and sup orting sections of drill stem when adding such sections to or removing them from the drill ste That is to say, the column assembly A may be firmly anchored in position and slight chan es in the osition of the center line drill pipe in the borehole may be compensated for automatically by slidable movement of the gripping assembly wh ch may shift along axis 8 of frame assembly B.

The action of the assembly in a typical operation will now be described. It will be assumed that rams 44 and 48 are spread apart so that dies 45 and 45a can pass over the surface of the pipe to be engaged. Frame assembly B may be rotated about column assembly A until longitudinal axis 8 of the tong coincides with axis 26 of the drill pipe to be engaged with the tong. The tong is stopped in this position by contact of surface 29 of stabbing assembly C with the drill pipe. The tong may then be engaged by increasing the pressure in reservoir 50 by means of a suitable hydraulic system, not shown in the drawing. The pressure in reservoir 50 causes movement of piston ram 49 toward the center line 26 of the pipe which in turn increases the pressure in reservoir 52 and moves ram 48 until dies 45a contact the drill pipe. 'When dies 45d come in contact with the drill pipe further, movement of ram 48 is prevented and additional force applied by hydraulic fluid in reservoir 50 causes bridge D and gripping means E to slide in frame B until dies 45 are brought into con tact with the drill pipe. The force exerted in reservoir 50, which in turn is transmitted to reservoir 52, will cause the dies 45 and 45a to grip the drill pipe and this gripping action will be maintained as long as fluid pressure is maintained in reservoir 50. With the drill pipe gripped by dies 45 and 45a the tong may be employed as desired either for breaking the joint or for supportin the pipe and moving it horizontally with the axis of the pipe maintained vertically. The tong may be released from the pipe by releasing the pressure in reservoir 50. The release of pressure on the hydraulic fluid in reservoir 50 allows spring 39 to slide bridge D and gripping means E with respect to frame B until lug 43 is in contact with screw 42. This action takes dies 45 out of contact with the surface of the drill pipe. Since the fluid pressure has been released, arcuate movement of frame B about column A will allow dies 45a to slide over the surface of the drill pipe and force ram 48 away from center line 26 of the drill pipe, thereby allowing the tong to be released from the pipe.

It will be seen that the tong assembly of the present application embodies several advantages. The arrangement allows the end of the tong to be firmly fixed against shifting horizontal movement and at the same time provides the means whereby a horizontal shrifting of the pipe to be engaged may be accommodated for by the movement of parts of the tong. Another substantial advantage of the design of the present invention is that the actual force exerted against the die members in gripping the tong is substantially greater than could be obtained by the use of a given hydraulic pressure applied to the area available in a given size tong body.

While I have described a specific embodiment of the present invention, it will be obvious to a workman skilled in the art that various changes in the size, shape and dimension of the parts of the assemblies forming the device of the present invention may be changed without departing from the scope of the invention.

Having fully described and illustrated a preferred embodiment of the present invention, what I desire to claim as new and useful and to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A tong assembly comprising, in combination, an arm member, a gripping assembly carried by the arm member including a first ram member, gripping dies mounted on the first ram member, a housing defining a reservoir slidably mounted on the arm member for movement parallel to the longitudinal axis of said arm mem ber, a piston slidable in the housing with its axis coinciding with the axis of said arm member and defining a surface of given area exposed to said reservoir, packing means arranged in the housing cooperating with the first piston and housing to define a second reservoir a second ram member mounted on said housing with its axis coinciding with the axis of said arm, and gripping dies mounted on the second ram member facing toward and spaced away from the gripping dies mounted on said first ram member.

2. A tong assembly comprising, in combination, an arm member, a gripping assembly mounted on the arm member for slidable movement along the longitudinal axis thereof includinga frame member, a first ram member secured to the frame member with its longitudinal axis coinciding with the longitudinal axis of the arm -member, a cylinder secured to the frame member, a piston slidably arranged within the cylindrical member and cooperating therewith to define a reservoir, a second ram member slidably mounted within the cylindrical member with its :axis coinciding with the longitudinal axis of thearm member and cooperating with the cy1in drical member and with the piston to define a reservoir and packing means carried by the cylin- .der arranged fluidly .to separate the two reservoirs and pipe gripping dies mounted on the first and second ram members facing toward each other and spaced apart for engaging with a pipe to be gripped.

3., A device in accordance with claim 2 in which the area of the piston cooperating to define the first reservoir is substantially greater than the area thereof cooperating to form the second reservoir.

4. A tong assembly comprising, in combination, a column assembly including a post memher, a tabular member mounted on the post member for rotative and vertical movement with respect to the post member, a tong assembly comprising an arm member having an end secured to said tubular member for vertical and rotative movement therewith, a gripping assembly slidably mounted on the arm member comprising a frame carried by the arm member and adapted for movement along the longitudinal axis of the arm member, a first ram member secured to the frame member, pipe gripping dies mounted on the first ram member, a cylindrical member secured to the frame mem her and defining a cylinder having its axis parallel to the longitudinal axis of the arm member, a 'piston member slidably arranged within the cylindrical member and cooperating therewith to form 'a reservoir, having a means of communication with the exterior source of hydraulic pressure, an annulus mounted in the cylindrical cylindrical member, the annular member and the piston member to define the secondreseriioilt, the circular area of the first piston exposed to iluidin the first reservoir being substantially less than the circular surface thereof exposed to fluid in the second reservoir and pipe gripping dies mounted on the second ram adapted to cooperate with those carried .by said first ram for .releasably gripping a section of the pipe.

5. A tong assembly comprising, in combination, a gripping assembly comprising an elongated frame member -with a side opening slot, with its axis making a right angle to the longitudinal axis of the frame member for receiving pipe, said framemember having'upper and lower bearing surfaces oneach side of saidslotiand the lines generating sa-id bearingsurfaces beingparallel with each other and with the longitudinal axis of the frame member, diametrically opposed pipe gripping elements mounted on the frame member adjacent said side opening for gripping ,asection of pipein the slot, said grippingselements' lying on a line parallel with the longi- "tudinal ax-isof the frame'member with at least one of said pipe gripping elements movable along saidiline toward the other gripping-element into gripping position and movable along said line away from said other element to release position, an elongated arm assembly enclosing said grippingassembly, said ar-m assembly having a "slot side opening for receiving a section of pipe 7 REFERENCES .CITED The following references are of record in the fileof this patent: V

, UNITED STATES PATENTS Number .Name Date 1,837,645 Baash et a1 Dec. 22, 1931 2,245,960 Claire June 17, 1941 2,311,225 Grable Feb. 16, 71943 

